Adidas' Solarboost Running Shoes Are Inspired By NASA Tech

German sports firm Adidas' latest running shoes are so high tech they are inspired by NASA engineering technology, apparently.

Called Solarboost, the new trainers are focused on high-performance and are a lightweight running shoe created using what the firm is claiming its "best innovations".

Adidas Solarboost trainers are inspired by NASA engineeringAdidas

The NASA influenced tech comes in the form of Adidas' "Tailored Fibre Placement" (TFP) technology, which lays down fibers which feature Parley material content, meaning every single millimeter of the shoe is precisely stitched and constructed. The result is that they are super comfortable, fit better and support in a lightweight form so runners can move confidently at any speed or distance.

John Stewart, Director Product Marketing, told me in an emailed interview that NASA engineering stands for "the highest level of engineering", in the same way a single piece on a space shuttle has a "performance and a specific character".

He explained: "Everything has a reason and defined task to fulfil. The space shuttle itself also represents some of our key values in the Solar Franchise; from the astronauts to the engineers, everyone has to have 100% confidence in the construction of the spacecraft.

"We wanted inspire the same confidence in runners for Solarboost. Solarboost is their ultimate confident shoe that they can trust on their run to have a better running experience."

So when designing the shoe, Adidas used the space shuttle for inspiration and created a grid pattern to lay over the shoe to highlight zones for specific functions.

"With the help of our Aramis testing system we were able to identify and highlight the needs for every aspect of the shoe (areas that needed support, areas of high friction, areas where the foot expanded on footstrike) and precision engineer the shoe from these insights," Stewart added. "With the technology of TFP we are able to define the performance of a product on every millimeter and it allows us to engineer our products on a level that is new to the core of running."

The shoes weigh just 295g, and thus the new silhouette is 15g lighter than the previous Energy Boost shoe, a lighter weight which is said benefit running speeds and comfort.

My journalism career kick-started in the technology industry at The INQUIRER in 2012, where I soon found my voice in the innovations space, focusing on the latest advances in consumer tech and their social impact. These days, I’m a freelance writer and editor, specializing ...